Chapter Eighteen
BETHANY
When I got home from work that Monday, I could still smell Gavin’s cologne on my pillow. I smiled when I held it close to my body, and the smell evoked the memories that we shared with each other this weekend. I still didn’t regret sleeping with him sooner than I wanted to. I felt like our relationship was solidified as soon as that happened. It may have been a foolish way to think, but that is just what I felt for the time being. “Hello? April?” I answered the phone and waited for her to speak on the other end.
“Where are you1, Bethany? You are supposed to be here so I can teach you how to cook meatloaf.”
I put my hand on my forehead, “Right! My goodness, I can’t believe I forgot. I just got home, but I will be there shortly, okay? Don’t start without me.”
“Okay, but hurry up.”
I quickly grabbed my keys, then rushed to April’s home. Mark’s truck was still parked in the driveway, so instead of letting myself in, I rang the doorbell out of respect. Mark opened it with a smile on his face, “Hey, Beth! Good to see you.” He wrapped his arms around me.
“Hey, Mark! Your wife hasn’t been yelling at you for eating all the jelly, has she?”
He laughed. “No, no. I’ve made sure that there are at least two jars of jelly in this house at all times. Other than that, I am walking on tiptoes to make sure I don’t piss her off. We’ve got about five months left of this before it all goes back to normal, so I am just hoping that I can make it to see the birth of my kid before April kills me. That’s all I want to do.”
“Yeah, that is a smart thing to do.”
“Bethany? Is that you? I didn’t invite you over here to carry on a conversation with Mark! Come on!”
Mark shook his head, then whispered, “You better get back there before she turns her talons on you.”
I walked into the kitchen as April pulled seasonings out of the cabinets. “You are already late, so I don’t need you talking to Mark and delaying dinner even more. So, come right here and watch how I season this so you’ll know how to do it yourself.” I moved closer to her, smiling, as she sprinkled salt and pepper onto the meat. Suddenly, she stopped and put the spices down. “Um, wait a minute. I know that look. I know that look!”
My eyebrows smashed together between my eyes. “What look? What are you talking about?”
“No! You will not play dumb with me! You had sex with him, didn’t you!?”
“What?”
“Bethany Pope! You will not stand here and lie to me! I know you did because you are glowing like a fucking neon sign! You two had sex, didn’t you?! And don’t you lie to me!”
I hung my head, then exhaled. “Yeah. We had sex this weekend,1 once… or ten times.”
She laughed and threw her arms around me, rocking back and forth. “Oh, my God! I can’t believe it! You told me time and time again that you were going to make him wait two months! What happened to that?”
I laughed with her. “I don’t know. He came over after we went on our date, and we started eating ice cream. And, I don’t know, he just looked so fucking sexy to me, so I couldn’t resist. I had to. So, I went into the kitchen and got some chocolate and strawberry syrup, then we proceeded to ruin my living room couch and have sex until we were both too tired to move.”
Mark walked into the kitchen as April threw her arms around me and hugged me tight again. “Bethany! You fucking whore! I can’t believe you!”
“Whore?” Mark said, looking between us.
“She had sex with her new boyfriend,” April glared at me, “Wait a minute, you two are at least boyfriend and girlfriend, aren’t you?”
“Yes.”
She looked at Mark, “She had sex with her new boyfriend! And she did it before the two-month rule she had set! That fake ass rule! I knew she would break it!”
“No shit?” Mark said as he walked to the refrigerator and grabbed an apple. “Wow. I can’t say that I am not surprised because I surely didn’t expect that. How long have you two been seeing each other?”
“Um…” I took a seat at the kitchen table. “Just over a month now.”
“That’s not bad. Most guys wouldn’t have waited that long, so I tip my hat off to the guy.” He sat down next to me at the table. “So, when are we gonna meet him?”
“Yeah, Bethany,” April said, zeroing in on me. “When are we going to meet him?”
“Um, I don’t know. I guess… he can come around whenever you guys have time. I mean, he is busy himself, but I’m sure if I give him a heads up, he won’t have a problem meeting you guys. He knows all about you.”
“Well, then it is settled. You find out when and then after that, we will set something up. Like, a double date or something. I think that would be great.”
I stayed at April’s house for a few more hours, talking and eating with her and her husband. I loved the fact that they were both excited for me. Things were going well until she asked me about school. I had forgotten all about that, especially since Gavin stepped into the picture. “Oh, yeah. Um, I’m going to get back to that soon. I mean, I’ve just been so busy, you know? I haven’t had the time to get focused on it again. The school sent me a letter earlier this week, prompting me to finish up, but I just haven’t gotten around to it.”
April put her hand on her stomach and made a circular motion. “Okay, Bethany. I understand, but don’t lose track of what you want to do because Gavin is in the picture. If anything, he will understand and help you get to your goal. Does he know about it?”
“Um, a little bit. I think I mentioned it at the beginning when we first signed up on that website, but that’s it.”
“Shit!” She stood up as quickly as she could, then rushed into her study. I got up and followed her down the hallway and into the room. She planted herself at the desk behind the computer. “I forgot. I need to remove my damned card from that website. Shit. I don’t need to get charged again, especially when you found your man just a day into it.”
I watched her log on and remove her information, smiling at the fact that she was the reason I found Gavin in the first place. I appreciated her as a friend, and the least I could do was make sure they met each other. I called Gavin, but his phone went to voicemail. It was late in the evening, so I figured he was busy trying to get Vinny ready for bed. “Well, I think I am going to head home now. Dinner was great, April, and thank you for showing me how to make it. You know, one of these days, I am going to have to cook for us.”
“Yeah, I think so. I think I’ve taught you well enough for you to make a few dishes. So, yeah, surprise us. Maybe you can cook for me, Mark, and Gavin one day. I think it would be a good idea.”
“Yeah. I’ll let you know.”
I left her house and headed home. The sun had just sent its last rays over the horizon. Street lights flickered on while I let my car idle at a red light. Gavin called me as I waited. “Hello? Did you call me?”
“Yes.”
“Is everything alright?”
“Everything is perfect. I was just calling you because my friend April wants to meet you. I figured that whenever you have some time, we could meet up with them and hang out. After all, she is the reason that I even signed up on that website.”
He laughed. “Yeah, sure thing. That won’t be a problem. We can get together, but let me check my schedule first so I can make sure I don’t have anything going on.”
“Okay. I’ll call you when I get home and settle in.”
“Okay. I’ll be waiting.”
I smiled. “Alright.”
After I hung up the phone, the light switched to green, and I traveled through the intersection. Just ahead, there was another red light that slowed my pace. As I eased my foot onto the brake, I noticed bright lights behind me. High beams blinded my vision as I looked through the rearview mirror. Jerks. I shook my head as the music thumped from the speakers of the vehicle behind me. Loud bass rattled the trunk. I couldn’t wait for the light to turn green so I could pull away from the obnoxious driver. As soon as the light switched, I pressed the gas pedal and sped off, leaving the car behind me.
A few minutes later, a white truck appeared on my side, riding parallel to my car. I smashed on the brakes in the middle of the street once I realized that it was the same truck I saw when I was out with April. Behind me, a car slammed on its brakes and blew its horn, but I was oblivious to it. With a panic gaze, I watched the white truck ride slowly down the street. The person in the car behind me honked the horn again, but this time, the driver leaned on it until I moved out of its way. Once I pulled to the side, he rolled past me slowly, yelling curse words in the process.
I couldn’t stop my hands from shaking as I parked in front of a small store. I looked in the direction that I saw the truck, praying that it didn’t circle around and come back to me. I couldn’t see anything inside the truck because the window was too heavily tinted, but I had a feeling it was Anthony. Get a grip, Bethany. Get a grip. My hands continued shaking like I was in sub-zero temperatures. My eyes were wide open as I saw my reflection on the side window. The lights from the store beside me lit up the area, and at that point, I was afraid to move. I didn’t know if that was Anthony, and if it was, I was afraid that he was going to follow me home. Instead, I made a U-turn and went back to April’s house. I didn’t want to chance it, and if anything happened, I knew that April and Mark being there would be better than me trying to handle him on my own. I had no idea what to do next, especially if Anthony had followed me to Roanoke. He was nothing but trouble waiting to happen.